True Story

For years I would dream about a little, tiny, baby bird. The bird was sick and it was so small that it just wasn't going to make it. It would fall over and lay there on the ground and I'd try to keep it alive but I didn't know how to. I hated that dream. And when I awoke from it, I always knew that the bird symbolized some part of me. It was a helpless feeling, one that weighed heavily on me.

About two years ago I was walking up a hill near my house when I heard a car's brakes screech, followed by a thump, up around the corner. A moment later I rounded the corner to find a bird laying in the street. It looked dead. I walked up to it and peered down. It blinked back. I wondered if it had broken its back when it was struck. Was it paralyzed? I spoke gently to it, and after a minute one of its wings flapped feebly. So it wasn't paralyzed, but merely stunned.

Another car drove up, slowed, and gently cruised around us as I waved it by.

Minutes went by. Then, the bird suddenly flapped one wing very hard and skidded across the pavement. I followed. Now it was in the middle of the street. Another car drove up, stopped, then slowly cruised around us. I continued to talk to the bird, trying to soothe it. More minutes went by. Then, the bird flapped both its wings frenetically, and it slid farther long the pavement, into the gutter opposite where it had been hit. It was regaining its bearings.

Yet another car drove up, and I waved it around.

A woman walked up and asked me what I was doing. I explained. Together we watched the bird, and after some back and forth, she decided she'd pick it up and bring it home. But when she reached down to pick the bird up, it stood up and flew away, landing on a wall a few feet away.

"That was very kind of you, to watch over that bird," she said.

I wanted to say to her, "Believe me, I had no choice. That bird was ME. I HAD to save it!" But instead, I said nothing.

As I walked home, I kept thinking about what had just happened. I'd saved the bird. I'd saved the bird! It had all happened so perfectly. I'd arrived at the scene of the accident just at the right moment, and then protected the bird from getting run over. And then the bird had regained its senses and flown away - free, and whole, at last!

I have not dreamed about the baby bird since.

The State of US

What gets me riled up is what we, the United States public, invested our wealth in during those heady years when we reigned supreme on the world stage. We built a suburban infrastructure that relied heavily -- even exclusively -- on cheap, stolen oil. We went to Hawaii, we bought expensive cars, we added marble counter tops to our kitchens, we went out to dinner, we bought clothes, we did vast quantities of recreational drugs, and in the process we lost any semblance of self-sufficiency and sustainability that we once had. We lost the family farm, we went into debt, we stopped saving money, we forgot how to put up food, we had lots of children because we were told we were supposed to, we forgot how to garden, how to be thrifty, how to hunt, how to make do with less or little, how to re-use and repair, how to change our own oil, how to knit, how to be happy, how to eat well, how to be healthy, how to get real exercise, how to accept hardship, how to be civil to one another, how to give, how to be kind and thankful. We shitted away a King's ransom. And for what? What do we have to show for it? A nation full of crumbling, world-class freeways and houses. 50 million garages that are stuffed full of forgotten excess. Tens of millions of suburban consumers who have no real value, no real skills, no real savings, no real worth, no real clue, who have jello for brains. We have degenerated to a level where we know how to honk at each other, how to consume, how to sue one another, how to blame others for our own problems, and how to take as much as we can from the state and from the natural environment.

What is my point, you ask? I will get to that in a few moments. But first let me say that my point is critical, it must be acted upon, it is based on many years of studying world history and current affairs and the future. My point is this: Humanity now faces a multitude of looming problems that are global and epic and unprecedented in scale. These imminent crises include rapid climate change and accompanying rising sea levels, the increasing scarcity of resources and fresh water across the globe, widespread environmental degradation and possible systemic collapse, overpopulation, global economic collapse, and pandemics. The way to address this alarming state of affairs is to START INVESTING IN SUSTAINABILITY NOW, while you have an income, while the world economy still functions, while the vast multitudes sleep, while there is still time. This is it, our last chance. Work on the homestead, improve your relationships, get the ranch up-and-running, learn how to grow food, how to get by on less, how to love and live again.

Buy a quality rifle and pistol, and ammunition. This is no time to moralize. Your rifle and pistol may serve you, your children, and their children in a world that is far less civilized and prosperous than ours, a world in which the thin veneer of civilization was, indeed, quickly wiped away.

Buy a solid, functional mountain bike. Buy 2 sets of extra tubes for it, as well as a basket or rack, and learn how to repair and maintain it.

Set aside a minimum of 3 months worth of food, for long-term storage.

Learn the fundamentals of First Aid.

Plant a garden, and learn how to grow food. Better yet, plant a food forest or an orchard.

Learn how to raise animals, how to gather their eggs and milk and fur and poop, even how to slaughter, butcher and cook these critters.

Learn how to grow and use medicinal herbs.

Secure trusted friendships that will survive the coming storms.

Learn how to eat well and stay healthy.

Learn a skill that can serve as a cottage industry -- bicycle repair, ammo reloading, brewing or distilling, gardening, a healing art, soldiering, plumbing, auto repair, etc.

Increase your skill set across the board by learning functional homemaking fundamentals such as general home repair, cheese making, canning, cooking from scratch, baking, knitting, sewing, hide tanning, defensive shooting, etc.

Save money. Pay off your debt. Buy a house or land. Hedge against both deflation and hyperinflation, by investing some of your money in precious metals and/or STRIPS and/or TIPS and/or commodities.

Try to secure a job that can withstand rising oil shortages and social unrest and continued state financial bankruptcy/insolvency.

Consider where you live, and its advantages and disadvantages. Move to a more secure location if you must.

Stay abreast of world affairs, and act accordingly.

To those of you who are already on the bandwagon -- thank goodness! To those of you who are still in the dark -- this is your clarion call, these words are the light bulb that just flickered and got your attention. YOU'VE BEEN ALERTED. NOW YOU MUST MAKE GOOD.


And what of me, what purpose do I serve? If I am here for anything, it is to sound the alarm. People like me MUST exist in this world, people who see and imagine what lies down the road, and shout the warning to those around them. And it is imperative that we alarmists NEVER, EVER come to believe that Industrial society will do anything but fail completely. I don't know why this is true, I only know that it is. So, follow our advice, and hope we are wrong. The best future is the one in which we are wrong. But we can never know what the future will actually bring, so why not improve your life anyway, just in case? Start now. It's win-win, no matter what the outcome.

Holy Moly: Aquaponics

My God this is cool. And ingenious. In a nutshell, fishes poop in water, the water is cycled thru a gravel bed that acts as a growing medium for plants, the plants suck up the nutrience from the water, and then the clean water goes back into the fish tank. Ideally, you eat the plants and the fish, and the whole system uses only 10% of the H20 that a regular garden uses. You can operate these systems under grow lights, meaning you could use them indoors, in bunkers, in caves, in boats...

Check it out: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2010/03/21/HO3Q1CGSL1.DTL&sfgabt=ttmabtc#ixzz0ixht3aGI

Where to buy pre-made aquaponic systems:

-- Kijiji Grows, Oakland: (877) 865-2055 www.kijijigrows.com

-- Inka Biospheric Systems, San Francisco: (650) 619-2241 www.inka.fm

-- Home Depot: www.homedepot.com

The Mountain Bike

Have an aluminum mountain bike -- large frame, disc brakes, 24 gears. Added a rear rack last night, along with a clip-on bag/backpack. For short trips to the neighborhood stores this summer. Am going to look into a front rack, and am always looking for a used trailer. Nothing more useful than a bike in a grid-down situation. You can always push the mofo on flats/uphills, and coast downhill, if it's too overloaded to actually pedal. Always thought thorn-proof tires sounded good, too. Have to look into that.

CVS

Here's a deal: I went to CVS and bought 2 8-packs of Scott towels and 1 12-pack of Scott toilet paper and 4 cans of propane. Used store coupons and a freebie 5 dollar rewards coupon. Total cost: $28.44. Savings: $28.02. Now I've got a few months of paper products and a summer's worth of propane for LittleFoot (would have bought all of it at some point anyway).

The Survivalist Tribes

I want to found one of the survivalist tribes. I want to do it soon, long before the landslide starts, so that we are up and running and relatively unscathed by the escalating demise of the industrial world (whenever that should occur).

Here's what my survivalist tribe is gonna be and do:

*We're gonna be debt-free
*We're gonna build a village (literally)
*We're gonna create our own local, silver-backed currency
*We're gonna also barter and use time credits
*We're gonna be a community of minutemen, and we're gonna have our own security force
*We're gonna get our shit together inside and out so that we are pragmatic and have our feet on the ground and are aligned with our Higher Nature
*We're gonna live simply and use a lot of low-tech equipment and some high-tech equipment
*We're gonna grow all of our own food, and be largely self-sufficient
*We're gonna train ourselves in many different skill sets, so that together we can perform a wide array of tasks
*We're gonna operate our own businesses
*We're gonna eschew the political/economic system, and find outside solutions
*We're gonna network with other survivalist tribes
*We're gonna help the local community to be more self-sufficient
*We're gonna continually improve our own systems, so that they function effectively, and
*We're gonna promote the lifestyle, thru books and online media

I've been waiting all my life to do this. I can hardly stand the wait!

Collapse Occurs Unevenly, and Has Already Begun

Cut'n'paste this puppy, which reaffirms Penny Kelly's national collapse-assertions in ROBES:

http://resourceinsights.blogspot.com/2010/02/uneven-collapse-hint-its-already.html

Really quite interesting, and precisely what I believe. The modern nation states are already in decline, and some have begun to collapse.

The Big Berkey

My Big Berkey just arrived, and it's filtering H2O as I write this. Getting it was no mean feat, seeing as Berkefeld's can't be sold in California because they do not meet California filtration standards. Californians cannot even buy them via the internet! Which is ridiculous, seeing as Berkeys are the world standard for gravity-fed water purification systems, AND there is no other equivalent! So anyway, I sent the money to someone out of state, and they purchased it and sent it to me. And, so far, I'm impressed. I've been using a Brita filter for years, and let's face it, Britas are not really filters. I'm not sure what they actually do, besides condition the water so it tastes better, and make us feel like we are being healthy. The Berkey has some heavy duty silver-impregnated ceramic/charcoal filter elements that last 10 years. They cost about $50 each, and my setup has 2, though up to 4 can be used. The system consists of 2 stainless steel pots, one of which sits on top of the other. The filter elements fit into the top pot, where the water goes, and clean water gravity-feeds into the lower pot. It's a simple, clean set-up, and the water tastes really good. I'm stoked, and plan to use this system for many years. It ain't cheap, but then again, it ain't plastic. You know the score: After TSHTF and no one has any potable water, all the girls are invited to my love shack. But if you are a dude, be sure to wear a bulletproof vest if you come a'knocking.

Preserving Plastics and Synthetic Materials

Sunlight destroys most things, given enough time, and plastics and nylons are no exception. So the key to getting long life out of things like tents and plastic planting pots is, don't leave them in the sun when A) they are not being used, or B) for extended periods of time. When growing season is over, I empty my window planters and earth boxes out and store them inside for 6 months. They still show signs of degradation, but they will last twice as long as they would if I left them out all year. As for tents, I don't need them long term, as I only go camping for a few days a year. But I have seen tents that have been left out in the sun long-term, and they were in bad shape, bleached out with degraded netting. So, if I were to live in a tent long-term, I would set it up in shade or under cover. Tarps, too, degrade BADLY in the sun. Enough said.

Re-use and Conservation

It is important to develop a mindset of re-using materials to the greatest extent possible, and of curbing our overall use of materials, so that we use as little as possible. I'm no saint in this regard, and I don't intend to preach, but these are pragmatic skills, skills that every survivalist should have. The truth is that the days of plenty are now over, for the human race is so overextended that we are in danger of running out of many metals and minerals -- and water! -- in the coming decades. Learn to make do with less now, so that you don't hurt so bad when you no longer have the choice. You might trying cleaning out old peanut butter jars to store grains in, or using old wine bottles as water bottles, shopping at yard sales for utensils and dishes and tools and old electronics. Every item you buy used saves a tremendous amount of time, energy and materials that would have otherwise been used to manufacture that item. WE MUST DE-PROGRAM OURSELVES FROM THE CONSUMER MENTALITY. When you do buy things new, you may wish to make sure that certain items (like jackets or boots or a grain grinder or solar panels or a car) are high-quality, so that they last either for a long time, or forever. It goes without saying that you will also need to properly maintain these items. Other items (like dishes) might be just as functional when of lower quality.

Imagine II

Can you imagine what life will be like when the governments finally fail, and corporations assume control of the world? There will be no basic human rights, no law enforcement, no guarantees of personal sanctity or freedom, no enforcement of environmentally-sound business practices or sanitation, no curbs on pollution, no limits on resource depletion, no social welfare or medicine, no regulations on food ingredients, no upkeep of public institutions or utilities. There WILL be unbridled capitalism, untamed greed, unrestricted environmental degradation.... Everything will be privatized: road repair, garbage collection, incarceration, slavery, prostitution, security, intelligence, surveillance, utilities, public works, drug cartels, hit men, disaster relief, all media everywhere, weapons manufacturing, currency, citizenship, the space race, the list goes on. The proverbial dollar will reign supreme at all times.

Everyone will be armed with the best weapon they can get their hands on. The utilities in your house will not function, because the central water system and electrical grid decayed years ago. You will drive a smoke-belching wreck that is cobbled together from a dozen different cars and has steel security plates welded over the windows. The roads will be cracked, covered in debris, sprouting weeds. Trash, raw sewage and corpses will litter the urban landscape. Smog will choke the air. The vast majority of impoverished people will walk or ride bicycles. There will be no public transportation. You will collect rainwater from your roof in the winter, and fill water containers from a water truck in the summer. The water cartel will demand hard cash for their polluted, undrinkable water. You will grow what food you can, eat rodents and pets, accept virtually inedible corporate welfare handouts, and slowly starve. The corporations will provide unsafe industrial jobs for lousy food and low wages. There will be incessant crime -- burglaries, rapes, muggings, gangs, assassinations, extortion, shootouts, hold-ups, corporate/cartel clashes, terrorist attacks, random bombings.

Out of this chaotic, violent and unjust world will emerge the eco-terrorists and the survivalist tribes.

Making Plants and Banks Work for You

*It's called transpiration. It's the process by which plants emit water vapor thru their skin. And it can work for YOU, Dawg! You take plastic bags and tie them around tree branches and plant limbs, and the bags will hold the transpired water. At the end of the day you have some H20. It's the kind of thing you should know, in case you are ever in a situation where water is more precious than...extra plastic bags.
*Right now at least two major banks are offering free money to people who open a checking account with them. One bank is offering $50 for free with an initial $100 deposit. They will place the money in your account within 45 days, and then it's yours. The other bank is offering $100 free with an initial $100 deposit. The free $100 is yours to keep after 6 months. What I'm saying is, take up offers like this and cash the accounts out as soon as the cash is all yours, free and clear. Then take that money and buy something with lasting value, like ammo or silver. Sometimes you have to go into the bank and set the account up in person. Other times you can set it up online. But no matter how you slice it, Homecake, the process of opening and then closing a single bank account will take 1.5 hours max (probably more like 45-60 minutes), and thus you make $25 - $75 an hour when all is said and done. Now THAT's vodka money!
*If you are disciplined with credit cards and finances, then accept 0% credit card offers. Make a single large purchase with each card, ie: that thing you've needed/wanted to buy for some time, like a shed, or new truck tires, or a new hunting rifle, or a cow. Then destroy the credit cards. Pay the monthly minimums on them until your 0% offers end. Pay the rest of the balances off at the last possible moment, just before you start to owe finance charges. This is perfectly legal, and works. It can affect your credit rating slightly, but if you don't need a loan, it's not an issue. I've done it, to great effect. If you are really smooth, you can wait til one card is about to start accruing finance charges, and flip that balance onto a brand new 0% card. Never make more than one purchase on each card. Never have more than one balance on each card. It is possible to string a balance along for several years using this method. I've done it. I know someone who bought a car this way and took 6 years to pay it off. The thing about this little secret is...it smells good. Don't it?
*I just read that ING Direct (an internet bank) has a very high credit rating (meaning it's financially sound). But don't take my word for it, go to bankrate.com and check for yourself. Anyhoo, ING Direct has traditionally offered savings accounts with higher-than-average interest rates, and no fees, and a $25 bonus for opening an account, and a $10 bonus for referring someone else who opens a new account. Right now they are offering a $20 referral bonus. I've had an account with ING Direct for some time, and let me just say that it's nice not to be nickel-and-dimed to death. Some will argue that the dollar amounts I just mentioned are so trivial as to be unimportant, but I disagree. It's the difference between having a savings account and watching fees and shitty interest rates chip away at it month by month, or having a savings account that GIVES ME FREE MONEY so that every month I always have more in it than the previous month, whether or not I myself add money to it...you dig?
*One last thing. In my experience, small banks treat their customers well. For instance, I belong to a small regional bank that has less than 20 branches. And because of this, they automatically refund all ATM charges. Again, avoiding banking fees rocks.
*One FINAL last thing. Check out bank ratings on bankrate.com. Then go with a secure bank, one that has a very high credit rating. It's your choice. Why not use that freedom to your advantage?

Imagine

I imagine that the day will come, after the global governments have fallen, when Corporations will rule the world. Having no authority to answer to but their own, they will employ insidious methods of maintaining control. They will utilize armies of mercenary commandos to kidnap and kill their enemies. They will fight their wars with AC-130 gunships, UAVs, Big Dogs, spy satellites, cruise missiles, biological weapons and EMP devices. Sometimes the Corporations will work with each other to wipe out an "Eco-terrorist" cell, or in the name of common business interests. Other times they will fight each other hand-over-fist for market share, resources or raw materials, killing many innocents in the process. They will raze whole neighborhoods in their zealous pursuit of their enemies. Their thugs will rape, torture, kill children, kill witnesses - not always, but it will happen. And always the Corporate PR smokescreen will be churning out disinformation, whitewashing the abominable truth.

The Eco-terrorists will wage their war with far fewer resources, but they will be formidable opponents, and in the end they will give as good as they get. In their pursuit of destroying the Corporations they will employ suicide bombers, remote control bombs, sabotage of every conceivable kind, and massively effective media exposes on Corporate evils. Perhaps their greatest weapon will be corporate turncoats who will perform subterfuge from within, causing untold damage. Assassinations will be the order of the day, and no corporate employee will ever rest fully, as they watch the endless Eco-terrorist bombings take their toll.

Spring

When Spring arrives each year, I feel it inside me, and it is the most glorious feeling. It is as if I feel a spark, the First Spark, in my chest, and the light from that Spark illuminates my whole body. Every cell inside me sings. The whole world is alive, but it is not just Life, it is Birth, the first moment, coming-into-being, regeneration, Bliss, a blast, the Beginning, the Moment of Creation, ecstasy, that bright and powerful instant of magical clarity when all is happening and all is possible. When things are starting. I look forward to Spring every year. There is no brighter feeling I know. It lays the darkness of Winter to rest, it speaks of new beginnings and possibilities without end. Spring is like a golden bow that fires me - an arrow of intent - forth, thru the rest of the year, in a progression from dawn to night, from light to darkness.

It keeps me going.

Rule of 3s

Ragnar Benson, the author of some of my favorite survival books, says that survivalist preparations must abide by the Rule of 3s if they are to be viable. The Rule of 3s states that you must have 3 separate and distinct sources for each thing that you deem absolutely necessary to support human life. At this time, on this planet, in this neck of California, I deem water, food, shelter and fuel to be necessary for sustaining life. How will I find three sources for each of these things at my homestead?

My current plan for LittleFoot is not complete, but here goes:

*Water requirements will be met by 1 2,500 gallon truck-filled water tank, 1 500-gallon rainwater-filled water tank, and, eventually, a well. The tanks and rooftop water catchment system will be installed this Spring.

There is a lot of rain and snow at LittleFoot in the winter, and many months of extreme, dry, waterless heat in the Spring and Summer. The key is to capture water while it is available. I will be experimenting with digging/building a small reservoir in the gully this summer, and measuring the results next Fall/Winter/Spring.

*Food requirements will be met by a 3+ month supply of Mountain House freeze dried food and bulk grains and legumes, and, eventually, a garden and fruit trees. The freeze dried food has been purchased. The bulk grains have not. The garden is a work-in-progress, to be further developed this Spring and Summer. I am told that certain stone fruits will be able to weather the winters up there, and plan to plant apple trees in the coming years. I will also eventually plant Oak trees, and continue to cultivate the Oak trees that already exist, as acorns could prove to be a windfall source of calories in hard times.

Hunting/trapping does not seem to be an option at LittleFoot - I have seen almost no wildlife up there.

*Shelter requirements will be met with the LittleFoot Motel (already established), a treehouse, and a portable tent/dome shelter. The treehouse is just a dream at this time, though the portable shelter could be purchased cheaply, or built from scratch, at any time.

*Fuel requirements will be met with abundant wood from the forest, a solar sizzler parabolic cooker (purchased), propane canisters (purchased), a portable photovoltaic system (purchased) and eventually some stored gasoline for a generator (not yet purchased).

Furthermore, a cast iron wood-burning stove has been purchased for the LittleFoot Motel. Once installed it will provide crucial winter heat, and a cooking surface. The obvious benefit of the solar sizzler is that it runs on sunshine. A propane catalytic heater and stove are already in place. A barbecue and fire pit are used for outdoor cooking. The PV system will eventually power a simple string of LED lights. When the generator is purchased, it will allow me to use power tools & appliances, and charge batteries.

LitteFoot is located at 3,750 feet. It has a tough climate, and a long dry spell each year, with 4 distinct seasons and 3-season access. Turning it into a viable bugout retreat poses distinct challenges. But the solutions are all there if I work with the forest and the land.

The Ultimate Survival Gun

I have heard it said that the ultimate survival gun is a flintlock rifle, because both powder and bullets can be fashioned from primitive materials. While there is truth in that, a better solution may exist.

IMHO, the ultimate multi-purpose firearm would be a 4-barrel combination gun with two rifle barrels mounted over two shotgun barrels. This arrangement would allow for accurate rifle sights and/or a scope. The calibers would be 7.62mm over 12 gauge. By using subcaliber barrel inserts, it would be possible to fire a large number of different calibers, including .223, 9mm, .22 LR, 20 gauge and .410. Such a gun would have a break-barrel action, and be virtually weather-proof with blued stainless steel barrels and polymer furniture. It would break down into two sections and fit into a small, waterproof backpack. The barrels would be of medium length - say, 20 or 22 inches. With the break-barrel action, the weapon would be quite small and compact. It could be used for hunting, or for defensive/offensive purposes. It would have a bayonet lug, as well as a top rail and a sling assembly. The stock would be hollow and contain a cleaning kit and a survival kit. A removable shell/bullet rack would clip to the outside of the stock.

We can go one step farther, and create a hi-tech, rapid-fire version of this weapon. Using MetalStorm in-line ballistics technology, each barrel could be loaded with stacked, caseless projectiles. Say, 8 7.62mm rounds in each rifle barrel, and 5 12 gauge caseless shells in each shotgun barrel. This would load the weapon with 26 rounds, which could be fired at any desired rate, in any desired order. Reloading would be done by breaking the barrels open, removing the spent cartridge casings (one per barrel) and inserting new multi-shot cartridges into each barrel. Furthermore, different types of ammunition could be loaded into each barrel, ie: armor-piercing 7.62mm rounds in one rifle barrel, hollow point 7.62mm rounds in the second rifle barrel, 00 buckshot rounds in one shotgun barrel, and nonlethal bean bag rounds in the second shotgun barrel. The multi-shot cartridge inserts could also double as subcaliber inserts, ie: a cartridge loaded with 22 LR ammo could be seamlessly loaded into a 7.62mm barrel. Such a weapon would be suitable for combat and, having no moving parts, would not malfunction.

Perhaps one day.